|
Think about - and take care of -
all people and all puppies
By Gail Paparian
It is amazing what rattles through my head when I sit
down to write a column. I could go on and on but good habits (and an editor who
counts words) keeps me somewhat in check. Here are some random thoughts.
Good news . . . Banning will not have the issue of splitting the city into
districts on the June ballot. With all respect due to Bill Franklin; I couldn't
be happier. In a city the size of Banning, I can see nothing but ill will and
negativism splitting up such a small city into districts.
We should be concerned about the qualities of the people running for city
council, not where they hang their hat. This November will see terms coming to
an end in Banning and Beaumont. Barbara Hanna, John Machisic and Brenda Salas'
terms are up in Banning; Jeff Fox and “Martie” Killough are up in Beaumont. I
believe the filing period opens on August 8th, so if you want to see someone in
your city run for re-election, here's your chance to urge them on. If you feel
you or someone you know could do a better job, this is the perfect time to step
forward and throw your hat in the arena or encourage someone to do so. A breath
of fresh air would be for local electeds to think and act regionally.
A WHILE BACK, members of the Banning City Council and planning commission were
setting up criteria for what it should take to serve on the planning commission.
When the qualifications were reaching the ionosphere, someone said “why don't
you use these same qualifications for council candidates?” A council member was
heard to respond, “We're elected; we don't have to be qualified!”
I attended my first meeting as a delegate in Sun Lakes. The community is broken
up into 23 districts, which does make some kind of sense. The delegate assembly
is supposed to discuss issues of interest to the community. Should an item be
more than an individual proposing a wild and crazy or self-serving topic, but
something that would benefit the entire community, a recommendation could be
sent to the Master Board for review or denial. It's kind of like a planning
commission acting as a shield for a city council.
A while back, a former master board member who was attempting to get elected to
something was quite pronounced when he declared words to the effect: Do not get
confused Š Sun Lakes is not a democracy!
SCAM ALERT! According to Linda
Hanley, assistant vice president of the Bank of Hemet in Beaumont, here is one
you should never fall forŠ If your bank contacts you by email, they will never
request that you click a link within the email. Rather, they will instruct you
to go the bank's site as you normally would and sign on with your user name and
password.
Nefarious people have learned how to design fake sites to look identical to the
one they are imitating. If you are caught in this “phishing” net, you could
compromise important personal information.
I WATCHED a video on YouTube. The link was sent to me by a friend. The couple
was singing a song about why English should be the official language of America.
My grandparents emigrated to the U.S. from Russia. I doubt they spoke any
English when they arrived in this country.
By the time I was born and got to know them, they did speak English, albeit with
heavy Russian accents but I was able to understand them. They were so happy to
be in America, they thought English should be the official and uniting language.
I agreed then and agree now. The only thing I am sorry about is the fact that I
was quite young when they passed away and they never taught me to speak or
understand Russian. I would have liked to have been able to communicate with
them in their native tongue.
THERE DOESN'T seem to be a day that goes by that I don't read something in the
newspaper that states a decision was “split along party lines.” When are we
going to have our electeds vote along the lines of what is good for their
constituents?
During a campaign a candidate will promise a potential voter just about
anything. Do they follow through if elected? Maybe. The solution here is simple.
Make campaign promises enforceable. While I'm at it; here's my solution to
health careŠ give every American citizen the same health care as is received by
members of Congress and for the same price.
I HAVE A FRIEND who is passionate about animals. She has been known to say she
trusts animals more than people and I often agree with her. She has earned the
right to have a beautiful estate and the resources to tend to multiple exotic
birds, flamingos, African cranes and . . . dogs.
She is not the Living Desert or an animal shelter, yet people feel compelled to
bring her the animals they have adopted or found and cannot take care of.
She rarely looks at the character flaws in humans that has brought them to such
a state but somehow tends to the animals. She is known to have an excellent
email network of interested people when she hears about an animal needing a
home. That's how Bill and I got SandyŠ a rescue dog in need of a home.
I MET “ANGEL” the other day. What a joy this little pooch is who wouldn't be
alive today if it wasn't for my friend. She and other animal people attended a
luncheon where the goal was to have about a dozen dogs adopted by the time
everyone left. Eleven had been adopted by the time dessert was served.
One little “Heinzie” (57 varieties) was left. People looked away as we often
have a tendency to do when something is not perfect. He did not have front paws,
and Lindi couldn't bear to think what would happen if she didn't adopt him. She
did the only thing she could Š she took him home to bond with her other dogs.
He is the happiest thing I have ever seen. He does have what I can only call
front stumps; so most of the time he hops like a kangaroo or manages to navigate
like a dog... just at a bit of an angle. He's young, he's enthusiastic and he
has no idea he is handicapped.
He is loved and cared for by canines and humans alike. In short, he doesn't know
there is anything wrong with him. Like Sandy who would have been put to sleep if
we had not found her, Angel will have a good life while he inspires all around
him.
I guess the moral of the story and the purpose of this column is to remind all
of us that giving someone a helping hand is better than giving them a kick; that
goes for people as well as the animal world.
If you love your animals and want to make sure they have proper identification,
do yourself and your companion animal a favor and have them micro chipped.
Gail and her husband Bill Paparian created a service called Writing Solutions in
1996. Gail has also written for a number of local and national magazines and
newspapers over the years.
Currently, she provides public relations consulting services for the Banning
Unified School District. She can be reached at
info@WritingSolutions.com.
Print this story
|
